Of the Same: Ean vs. Kie
Starting Off It was hard for someone to gain a living in the era of the ninja. It was even harder when you had nothing to start off with. Kie Joukai sat under the shade of a tree, hands holding his forehead, and elbows resting on his knees. His red bangs, coupled with his black hair, covered the troubled expression that was on his face. Around him, the sun illuminated both the ground and the dirt path he was beside, a cheerful day that overshadowed his mood. How long had it been? A year? Two years? Not long enough for him to forget what had happened. He sighed heavily, as he eyed the katana strapped onto his back, safely secured into his sheath. It was the last gift of what his parents had given him, before their untimely demise. He chuckled, as he found it so ironic that his parents' last wishes were all onto the blade he carried, a burden forever placed on his back. How irritating. The bike's engines were sounding more like a low thunder than their normal roaring loudness, the sound resounding throughout the various trees sparsely spaced along the sides of the dirt road he was driving on, the beams of light the leaves allowed to travel through flashing over the silverish lines and contours of the body of his 'steel horse', as he liked to call it, the infamous mask adorning his face matching in every respect to the bike. The one thing about this day was that he had seen things, very odd things at that, that would cause a superstitious person to stay inside their home with the blinds down and door locked. But Ean wasn't superstitious, so he was now riding out in the middle of nowhere on the border of the land of mountains, looking for... something. He may have forgotten what he was out in this god-forsaken land for, but he could just check the mask for it. So what if he got side tracked? He was about to find out. Kie's ears perked up immediately to the sound of engines roaring in the distance. Jerked out of his musings and mournings, he looked up in the direction of where it was coming from. His eyebrows furrowed, and his pupils squinted, attempting to see what was making that noise. At the other end of the road, the lenses on Ean's mask saw something in the distance, cross-hairs forming at the object's placement on the horizon and magnifying it to an easily visible level. As this was done so, he could make out a human body wearing a striking green hoodie of sorts. If he needed to brake, it would be now. Louder and louder. Kie simply closed his eyes, waiting for the biker to pass on by. There was no biker passing by, but a loud screech and the sound of dirt flying everywhere, the body of the bike rolling sideways past the boy sitting under the tree, the rider flopping onto his front, face down on the gravel road, his bike continuing its barrel rolls until it finally stopped, directly on its tires, upright and barely scratched. That brought the boy's attention upwards. Reflexively, he raised an arm to shield himself from the oncoming debris, ducking his head down as the dirt stained the vibrant green of his jacket. The screech hurt his ears, and he was almost tempted to cover them, too, out of reflexive movement. When, it stopped, he looked up towards the rider in surprise. He was laying there as if he were dead, his arms flung outwards from his sides from attempting to soften the blow to the ground and his jacket, and, surprisingly swords, askew, grayed with dust from the road and grime from the dirt that was flung from the incident. After a few moments, the rider turned his head to the other side, a low groan sounding from his vicinity and a few scratching sounds coming soon after as he dragged his hands to his sides, lifting his body off of the ground, then putting his weight on his knees while forcing out a few coughs. "S...sir?!" Kie slowly got up, feet a bit unsteady as he looked over at the man, eyes still widened. Then, without warning, he ran over towards him, feet pounding the. "Are you OK?" He asked immediately and instinctively, as soon as he was in talking range. The man coughed again and grumbled something at first inaudible, then raising his voice to an annoyed growl, "Of course I'm not, you little punk..." "...." Kie's face immediately faltered into a comically exasperated one. "Hmph. I'm sorry for asking, then..." He retorted, bending down a bit to put his hands on his knees. "Can you stand?" As if to purposefully answer without wasting words, the man stood up to full height, revealing the majority of his front half including his expressionless mask. He steadied his breathing, and, after seemingly looking over the boy in front of him and noting the strange hair color, he looked over to his bike and then asked almost rudely "Well? What're you still standing there for?" At first, Kie merely continued to stand, arms folded across his chest, and a twitching eye appearing on his annoyed face. His scowl, already twitching in coordination with the eye, had deepened a bit. Then, he scoffed, turning away from the man in a rapid fashion. "Well, fine! I guess the next time you wipe out, you'll expect me to point and laugh, right?" He retorted, looking over his shoulder. As he walked back towards the large warbike that had nearly killed him, the man with the mask called over his shoulder "If you were one of those people, you'd soon be counted among the dead..." his normally low, icy drone of a voice raising to adequate levels so the boy could hear him. Those words made Kie stop whatever thought he was about to enter at that point. As they slowly registered in his head, his fists slowly clenched, fingers curling into his palms slowly. He didn't move, even as he heard the bike rider's footsteps riding away. Then, he chuckled. "Tell me... is threatening people a good way to hide your clumsiness?" He asked. The man did not give heed to Kie's taunt, if he did it wasn't shown, and he straddled the bike again, revving the engines to their normal deafening growl, and turned away from the boy, spraying dust everywhere as he pushed the wheels to their maximum and then letting go of the brake, sending him into the distance at the gust-forming speed he had ridden in on. The boy, however, simply watched him take back off into the distance. He put his hands over his head, a bit irritated that he was ignored. But it was overridden by a new curiosity, as he stared at the dust clouds that Ean had left behind. "What a nice guy..." He muttered in dry sarcasm, turning in the opposite direction and beginning to walk off. After a mere half a moment, the same sounds of the engines were heard behind Kie. And they were getting louder as time passed. Boy, did that sway the green-clad boy's mood. Eyes widening, he barely had time to register the sound, before he reflexively crouched his legs and leaped out of the way, falling onto his stomach in the soft grass. As the large cloud of dust that ensued the return of the warbike came upon the immediate area, it concealed the sight of the man braking hard on his bike, stopping, and dismounting, the crunch of the gravel under his feet the only sound being made during the very tense quiet. His unsure and possibly sneaky footsteps could not be detected by direction, only existing in the grey cloud in front of Kie. It was made very clear that whoever this man was, he didn't return for a hug. Kie slowly reached out with one hand, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. His eyes searched every which way, wincing at the dirt that stung them. The problem was, the cloud itself seemed to block every point of sight, keeping the stranger concealed, and leaving him vulnerable. Kie could only hope that he was in the same plight, now... Within less of the space of a second, a small 'woosh' was heard, followed directly by a disruption in the cloud, and then sprouted from the dust a kunai formed of ice, aimed between Kie's eyes, its sheen glinting in the sudden light. It took only a second, and required only one second, for Kie to register that kunai. Raising the blade quickly, he swung his sword diagonally, slicing it straight in half. The pieces clattered onto the dirt ground. He quickly jumped back out of the smoke, landing on his feet and backing away slowly. "All right!" He called. "If you're gonna attempt to kill me, you're gonna have to do it in the open, you chicken!" A loud creaking sound shot from the cloud, like the man was growing some sort of crystal out of sight of Kie, and just as suddenly the sound had started, it stopped. There was one moment of tense silence again, not the slightest sound emitting from the dust veil, and out of nowhere a large spike of ice plunged out of the thick gray, heading straight at Kie, this time to his stomach. This time, Kie jumped out of the way, skidding off towards the side and running off in that very same direction. His legs were pumping hard, as was his heart, as his eyes kept onto the spot where Ean had fired from. A shadow fell over the boy's running form, the sun blocked by the body of his attacker. Ean had jumped into the air above Kie, his rapier at the ready, and was following his target as if he were flying. Adding acrobatics just for emphasis, as well as to show off somewhat, Ean turned in midair and reached just above the boy, his sword's point aimed directly between his shoulder blades. It would've been a scary moment for anyone else. To have a foreign shadow close in on you like a vulture on a corpse would've frozen anyone's nerves. It would've even been taboo to simply look up to see the blades gleaming, hungry for blood, flesh, and bone to be picked off of a living corpse. But not to one who was used to the harsh reality of survival. Twisting his feet and body around, Kie moved his blade to a backhand position and swung it forth, his blade clashing with Ean's own in a display of strength and self-acrobatics. Then, his other free hand reached out and gripped the descending Ean's shoulder tightly, and with a fierce grunt, he swung around, throwing the man close-quarters style to the ground. "Too slow!" The force of Kie's retaliation dragged Ean against his will into the gravel road, his face landing first, then his torso, and finally his legs. As the pair skidded along the surface, kie was on his feet, but Ean was left to have his body rubbed against the rocks, eventually, flipping and rolling like a ragdoll that had been blown away by a hurricane. After they both stopped moving, Ean had been glad his mask was on at the time, otherwise he would have lacked a face after the exchange. He took the force from the blow and rolled up, remaining in his standard stance again. His eyes were trained on the boy who was approximately ten feet away from him, and took the time to plan. "Oh...." Kie commented, settling into a kendo stance of his own. "So I see you're not gonna talk much in this. Oh, well..." He shrugged a bit. "Actions speak louder than words." The next second, Kie felt a great stinging sensation along his arms, and upon inspecting his limbs he found they had acquired new slices and cuts, minor slashes that were bleeding profusely nonetheless. Ean was now quite a distance behind Kie, both if his swords drawn, his body stopped in a running position. He straightened his stance quickly nd turned on his heel, now facing Kie's back and letting out a breath. Opening his mouth to speak, he said behind his mask "Actions may speak louder than words, but some actions lie as much as words do." For a moment, Kie was stunned beyond belief, the wind stinging his wounds like wasps. Then, a smile crawled up his face, and he let out a hearty laugh, turning to face Ean again. "Indeed! You certainly are a good liar, too!" Ean cracked his neck loudly, as it was feeling stiff from the recent blow to the ground, and retorted "But my level of deception is not as much as yours, boy." Kie's mouth formed into an O-shape at the blunt statement, eyes widened a bit. "I'm not sure what you mean..." He admitted, analyzing his opponent with curious eyes. Ean's face changed to one of intrigue, although this could not be revealed to Kie as the expression was hidden behind a mask. He continued, "You're lying, but not with words. You're lying with your sword, boy." "Oh!" Kie nodded in understanding. "I think I get what you're trying to say now...you think that I'm not putting my all into this fight....do you?" He asked, the smile still on his face. "Precisely," said Ean, resheathing his rapier. As he held up his wakizashi, he continued, "Which means I would prefer you give me your all, or I'd be insulted." Gritting his back fott against the ground, he lowered his stance, ready to strike at any point now, So..." he said, disappearing and then reappearing right in front of Kie, his left hand holding onto Kie's right arm, restraining his sword's movement, and his wakizashi at the boy's throat. "You can try, or you can die doing so." "I see..." Kie muttered softly, his voice coming to a conclusion. "I'll let go of my pride, then...." At that point, his hand had crept up to grip Ean's wrist tightly, squeezing it as hard as he could in order to prevent him from getting away. Then, his left leg abruptly raised itself upwards, and he pulled back, connecting with Ean's chin. "....and fight you with my full strength!" Try After staggering back a ways, the older swordsman corrected his jaw his free hand, "Now that's what I wanted to fight," said Ean sinisterly, poising his blades at the ready, "Now make me sweat, or I'll make you bleed," he taunted, bolestraing at Kie, slashing through his chest and leaping over his left shoulder, nicking his neck muscle just barely, all in one fluid motion. Landing a far distance behind him, he said "Heh, still not much of a challenge." At first, Kie's eyes were of surprise, as he saw his opponent jump over him. The sudden closing of distance had made it seem like he had teleported. His wound bit at his neck like a parasite, as he turned towards Ean. Then, they narrowed, as he pulled his sword back and rushed at Ean, closing the gap between them in seconds. He started off with a lunge attack, then followed up with a flurry of quick and elegant strikes aimed towards the head and chest. Ean blocked all of these, as they were small and indiscriminate. After the final strike, he slid his rapier down the inside of Kie's sword with such force and speed that he knocked it out, putting a small nick in his opponent's left bicep also. He regained distance between them, waiting again for another flurry of attacks. Once again, Kie struck with a one-handed lunge attack, obviously blocked. But then, he forced both of their blades downwards, grabbing Ean's collar with his free hand to hold him still. Then, he brought a knee up, striking Ean in the gut. Ean bent over from the sudden shock to his stomach, coughing up saliva and... blood? Yeah, that was blood. Crap, at this rate, he would have to show his face... oh well, play the cards you got... He angled his head upwards, head-butting into Kie's diaphragm, causing him to lose his breath. Ean regained his stance, and spun on his toe, cutting small lines into Kie's chest umltiple times, jumping back once again, keeping his distance. Kie's head immediately jerked up, and he grabbed Ean's rapier before it could escape completely from his grasp. The blade cut into his hand, but he ignored the small pain as he pulled Ean towards him, grinning widely. "Not this time!" He said, thrusting the blade straight into Ean's chest. Ean looked down, feeling an unbelieveable fire burn in his chest. What he saw did not please him, he could barely breath and he was bleeding heavily from the spot he was stabbed. Damn, it was that exact same spot that he was always stabbed. Why that exact same spot? He staggered back, away from the blade, pulling it out of his chest. He continued to shakily stand, until he felt the blood freeze on the wound, turning an icy red color. He could bear to look up now, the pain mostly numbed. Great, now I definitely have to show my face. Fine... He thought, putting his hand up to meet the cold steel surface of the mask. "you've.... done well for a rookie, I have to say... but, you have a long way to go," he said, showing one eye, his left one, and the frost that had formed on his face. Upon seeing the frost, Kie almost staggered back. "His face...!" He thought, in slight alarm, and even more surprise. Ean suddenly whipped away his mask, revealing his face, half covered in frost and the left side of his mouth extended in a creepy, jagged form that could be called a maw. He said "Yes, this is my face. Take in mind I'm not always like this, but you've seemed to push me this far. I congratulate you," he finished in his cold, breathy tone. He walked to a stunned Kie and said "Are you ready to fight?" Kie merely stared with the same expression, before he settled into a defensive stance, keeping distance between the two of them. "What? Was this some sort of a warm-up?" He asked, the grin returning. Ean stepped back also. "For me it was. For him, he's pretty much done. Now, I fight." he said grimly, clouds of fog coming from his mouth as he spoke. He setteled into a very low, beast-like stance, and simply spoke "Go." he disappeared, and suddenly Kie has scratches everywhere on his body. Ean was back at his spot, albeit a bit flustered, but nonetheless fairly unaffected by the high speeds he had just been moving at. "Your turn, boy." "What the?!" Kie staggered at the sudden wounds inflicted upon his person. A flashback occured, back to the fight with Otonami. "Just like before...." He stared at Ean for a split second, before stepping forward, a strong lunge attack directed at his head. Ean sidestepped the attack by an inch, bypassing the blade by his mouth, grabbing it between his teeth. "Well, I'm surprised you're still standing, you've got some major skill. maybe I should actually try to kill you now..." he said between clenched teeth. He slid down the blade to the hilt without letting go, elbowing Kie in the gut and spinning around, slicing cleanly across the face. "I honestly doubt you're fighting with every single ounce of strength you have! Come at me, cause if you don't, I will kill you!" he said after regrouping. Kie staggered back, but rushed at Ean anyway, attacking with a more stronger slash this time, with enough power to temporarily open Ean's defenses. Then, he did the unthinkable: he jumped, landing on pushing his feet off of Ean's chest in a backflip move, before twisting in mid-air and swinging again, this time aiming for Ean's head. Ean blocked with his katana, jabbing at Kie's right arm with his rapier, making a small cut on the side of the skin. "Well, at least you're learning how to get close to me without getting yourself killed, that's for sure," he said gruffly. He proceeded to spin-kick Kie in the chest as he landed, sending him skidding and eventually tumbling onto his stomach. THUD! Kie fell to the ground, but pushed himself back up, glaring at the man with frustration. "Damn it!" He swore out loud, settling into a two-handed stance this time. Ean looked at the boy with his half frozen face. "I bet you don't even know what that stance does," he said, not moving from his spot. "It's a defense stance, damn you!" Kie swore, an eye twitching. "It's a kendo stance. When two hands are holding a sword, it's power and strength double," he said, in a matter of fact tone. "Like this." The next moment, Ean was slicing downwards at Kie's right shoulder, two hands on his katana, maintaining his speed. "See if you can block this!" he shouted wildly. Kie stood his ground, and raised his own sword to block, but nearly staggered at the strength of the blow. "Everyone knows that!" He retorted, pushing his weight into Ean and forcing him back. Then, he aimed a diagonal arc strike towards his stomach. Ean blocked with a low guard, twisting his rapier around the outside of Kie's blade, and returning it to the original stance with such strength and swiftness it goes flying out of the younger man's hand. He pointed it at Kie's neck, "Before you rush to get that without dying, I want you to answer something," he said with the cold voice he possessed. "Crap..." Kie thought, a bit unnerved by the sudden change of events in Ean's favor. "....What is it?" He asked. "You live in the land of ninja, yet you use no chakra or ninjutsu. You can stand up to me without dying, and you're fifteen. I want to know how a boy like you came to learn how to fight to make me give an effort," he said, not moving his blade's position. Kie was silent for a moment, before he spoke. "I learn from watching others...." He said quietly. "I was given these swords skills by my own father, but I learned how to survive from adapting...." Ean was silent, his face frozen like the ice that characterized its features. He spoke roughly, "You speak like your father is a distant memory. Is he no longer alive?" he asked bluntly. "...He's not." Kie looked slightly glum after saying that. Ean's face was hard, "So is my own," he said grimly. "So... you fight in your parents' memory?" Kie sighed. "I'm that obvious, aren't I?" "yes, you are. Reading into things is what I do," replied the older man. "And I kill for the money," he said, quickly and swiftly swinging his arm out to the right, leaving a small cut on Kie's throat. "Don't let emotional moments inhibit your ability t fight. You'll die from simple sentimentalities," he said, drawing back his katana. "Now, get back to trying to kill me." "That's right....I've got a fight to complete..." Kie was instantly brought out of his "blues", and immediately settled into a Makashi stance, one that was very familiar with his own person. Evening Out? Ean leaped at Kie, bringing his katana outwards to block Kie's sword from movement, and stabbing at his jugular with his rapier, "C'mon, that stance won't get you anywhere!" Just as the sword was inches away from his face, Kie grabbed the blade, stopping it in its tracks. "Wanna bet?" He retorted, raising an eyebrow. "'Cause you just made yourself a sitting duck!" He brought his sword from under Ean's, swinging it upwards at Ean's exposed stomach. In response, Ean turned his own katana downwards, blocking Kie's own sword. He turned his focus on his rapier, jerking it slightly in Kie's hand, slicing open the skin with ease. "Sitting duck you say? Try fighting with a busted hand," he said mockingly. "Hmph!" Kie winced at the pain, but scoffed anyway. He gripped the blade even harder, pulling it to his side and leaving Ean's chest exposed. With his left leg, he lifted and kicked Ean in his his exposed flank, just enough to make him stagger back. Then, he used an elegant and one-handed side swing to slash Ean across the face, just below his nose. He stepped back a few feet, seeming a bit more calmer as he began to walk sideways. "I've got two, thank you very much." He shot back, a bit calmer than he was a moment ago. Ean felt the small trail of blood on his upper lip. "...Y'know, I really don't want another scar on my face, thank you very much..." he said angrily, digging his rapier into the ground and using it to pivot, throwing himself at Kie while slashing across his arm, thoroughly cutting into the flesh. "Not a very smart move..." Kie had taken the time Ean took to pivot, in order to position himself for another sideswing, this time two-handed. He felt the blade pierce through muscle and bone, but he was to lost in his thoughts to care. Ean's lunge had left him exposed now, and he wasted no time. His blade swing in a collision path, straight for Ean's face. "This is the end!!!" Within a split second, everything happened at once. Ean had switched his katana to a back-hand position, blocking Kie's own sword solidly. He stepped in, too close for Kie to move, "Yes, it is," he smiled, pulling his rapier back, pointing to his opponent's stomach. He stepped with one foot beyond his opponent's other foot, closing even more distance between them, and, with a movement that could only be described as cold and precies, he ran the long blade through the body of the boy he was fighting. He did not remove it for a moment, then, with another movement as swift as the attack, he pulled it out, sheathing it slowly. Kie fell to his hands and knees, a trickle of blood running down his chin. He dropped his sword, breathing heavily more heavily now, a shocked expression on his face. "N-no way...." He thought, in more than amazement than fear. "I-I could've sworn i had him!" Then, his eyes lowered, and he managed a slightly humored smirk. "Jeezus...." He muttered. "I guess this wasn't m-my day...."'' Ean stepped back, almost a small staggering motion, and the later of ice on his face shattered, flying away in bits and pieces of mirrored glass. Instead of falling to the ground, they floated in front of Ean, who brought his hand up to meet them. They attached to his finger tips, and he grabbed Kie's collar with his free hand, holding him up to what he could muster to be his feet. With force and deliberation, Ean shoved his hand into the open wound. Kie's eyes widened in shock, as he gasped in pain, letting out a violent exhale. "He's going to kill me!" He thought in realization, grabbing Ean's wrist in an attempt to stop him. but he did not stop, slipping through Kie's fingers. His hand entered the hole in his stomach, and, after holding it for half a moment, he pulled it out slowly, the look on his face dire and serious, almost as if he had no intention of killing this boy. Kie almost jerked forward as he felt the hand slide out of his stomach bit-by-bit, and he saw his vision began to haze slightly. "Damn...." He cursed inside of his head, but staring at Ean in surprise. "I'm blacking out...!" "W-why....?" He asked. "Because I see in you great potential," said Ean, his face turning softer, almost warm, and soon focusing on the wound after answering. Kie could hear the sudden change in tone, and his own face lightened to light surprise. "You do?" "I do," he replied, almost, just barely smiling. He let go of Kie's collar, and stepped back. "All people have potential, and you should see that you're one of them." Kie had to smile, as well. But his was more noticeable. "Up until now, the only people who ever said I had potential was my parents. To hear that come from somewhere else....it's obviously there, right?" He leaned over to pick up his own sword by the hilt. Ean walked over to his bike. "I might think so," he said, looking at the large vehicle's readings. He then went over to where he dropped his mask. "I would suggest you come with me, that wound won't hold forever, even with my help," he continued, pointing at the small frozen area on the boy's abdomen. Kie looked down at the wound, sheathing his sword with a quick motion, and walked towards Ean, stopping in front of him. "Lead the way." He said quietly. "Pf," scoffed Ean. "You trust too easily," he said, mounting his bike. After donning his mask again, he asked "Well, aren't you gonna come with me?" "Who said I trusted you?" Kie retorted, folding his arms across his chest. "I'm still on my guard, you know. Any attempts of trying anything dumb will get you on the ground." Nonetheless, he followed suit, mounting the bike behind Ean. "Hmph," grunted Ean as he turned on the giant machine. "I think I'm gonna like you, kid," he said, revving the engines to the thunderous roar that told he was on the travel once again. He burned a hole in the ground with the back tire, turning in a drift to the nearest town, and was off. Next: Of the Way: Training of Kie